Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka was born into an aristocratic Powish-French famiwy. Her acqwaintance wif phiwosophy started at an earwy age wif reading of de fundamentaw work of Kazimierz Twardowski, de founder of de Lvov–Warsaw Phiwosophicaw Schoow, Zur Lehre vom Inhawt und Gegenstand der Vorstewwungen (On de content and object of presentations), as weww as works by Pwato and Bergson. To de phiwosophy of de watter she was introduced by her moder, Maria-Ludwika de Lanvaw Tymieniecka.

After compweting de entire university course widin two years she moved to Switzerwand to continue studies under anoder important Powish phiwosopher and wogician, Józef Maria Bocheński, at de University of Fribourg. Her doctoraw study, dedicated to expworations of de fundamentaws of phenomenowogy in Nicowai Hartmann and Roman Ingarden's phiwosophies, was water pubwished as "Essence and Existence" (1957). She obtained her second Ph.D., dis time in French phiwosophy and witerature, at de Sorbonne in 1951.

In de years 1952-1953 she did postdoctoraw researches in de fiewd of sociaw and powiticaw sciences at de Cowwege d'Europe in Brugge, Bewgium. From dat moment on Tymieniecka started her own way in phiwosophy by devewoping a speciaw phenomenowogicaw attitude dat was neider entirewy Husserwian, nor entirewy Ingardenian, uh-hah-hah-hah.

In 1979 she pubwished, in cowwaboration wif Karow Wojtyła, who had become Pope John Pauw II in 1978, an Engwish transwation of Wojtywa's book "Osoba i czyn" (Person and Act). Person and Act, one of Pope John Pauw II's foremost witerary works, was initiawwy written in Powish; it has been transwated into French, Itawian, German, Spanish, Engwish and oder wanguages. Tymieniecka's Engwish transwation is widewy criticized. Critics of dis work cwaim dat Tymieniecka "changed de Powish transwation, confusing its technicaw wanguage and bending de text to her own phiwosophicaw concerns." It is awso said dat John Pauw II did not agree wif dis transwation, uh-hah-hah-hah. Besides, it was pubwished before de definitive edition of de Powish version, which shows dat it was not de finaw version dat de audor desired.[4] Her critics suggest dat de Engwish titwe used by Tymieniecka, "The Acting Person" is indicative of de probwems invowved wif de work, as de audor's titwe was meant to convey de tension between subjective consciousness (person) and objective reawity (act), an idea centraw to de written work and de message de audor tried to convey. Despite widespread disagreement, Tymieniecka insisted in 2001 dat her work is de "definitive" Engwish edition of "Osoba i czyn".[5]

Tymieniecka and Wojtywa, water Pope John Pauw II, began a friendship in 1973 whiwe he was de archbishop of Kraków. The friendship wasted dirty years untiw his deaf. She served as his host when he visited New Engwand in 1978, and photos show dem togeder on skiing and camping trips. Letters dat he wrote to her were part of a cowwection of documents sowd by Tymieniecka's estate in 2008 to de Nationaw Library of Powand. According to de BBC de wibrary had initiawwy kept de wetters from pubwic view, partwy because of John Pauw's paf to saindood, but a wibrary officiaw announced in February 2016 de wetters wouwd be made pubwic.[6] In February 2016 de BBC documentary programme Panorama 'reveawed' dat John Pauw II had had a cwose rewationship wif Powish-born phiwosopher Tymieniecka.[7] The pair exchanged personaw wetters over 30 years, and Stourton bewieves dat in some of dese Tymieniecka had towd Wojtyła dat she woved him.[7][8] The Vatican described de documentary as "more smoke dan fire",[9] and Tymieniecka had earwier denied being invowved wif John Pauw II.[10] Writers Carw Bernstein, de veteran investigative journawist of de Watergate scandaw, and Vatican expert Marco Powiti, were de first journawists to tawk to Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka in de 1990s about her importance in John Pauw's wife. They interviewed her and dedicated 20 pages to her in deir 1996 book His Howiness.[7][11][12] Bernstein and Powiti even asked her if she had ever devewoped any romantic rewationship wif John Pauw II, "however one-sided it might have been, uh-hah-hah-hah." She responded, "No, I never feww in wove wif de cardinaw. How couwd I faww in wove wif a middwe-aged cwergyman? Besides, I'm a married woman, uh-hah-hah-hah." The secret wetters of Pope John Pauw programme was aired on UK's BBC One on Monday, 15 February 2016, at 20:30.[7][11]

Foundation of phenomenowogicaw societies and de Worwd Phenomenowogy Institute[edit]

In 1969 Tymieniecka founded de 'Internationaw Husserw and Phenomenowogicaw Research Society', in 1974 de 'Internationaw Society for Phenomenowogy and Literature', in 1976 de 'Internationaw Society for Phenomenowogy and de Human Sciences', in 1993 de 'Internationaw Society of Phenomenowogy, Aesdetics, and Fine Arts' (1993) and in 1995 de 'Sociedad Ibero-Americana de Fenomenowogia'. The first dree societies comprised de foundation for creation of de Worwd Institute for Advanced Phenomenowogicaw Research and Learning in 1976, reorganized water into The Worwd Phenomenowogy Institute. The initiative to estabwish dis institute was supported by Roman Ingarden, Emmanuew Levinas, Pauw Ricoeur, and Hans-Georg Gadamer as weww as by de Director of de Husserw-Archives in Leuven, (Bewgium) Herman Leo Van Breda. Since its foundation and for many years Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka remained its permanent President.

As de president of de 'Worwd Phenomenowogy Institute' she organized numerous phenomenowogicaw congresses, conferences and symposia.

Since its creation in 1968[13] (dough de first book of de series seems to have formawwy appeared onwy in 1971), Tymieniecka was de editor of de book series Anawecta Husserwiana: The Yearbook of Phenomenowogicaw Research, which aims to devewop and disseminate Edmund Husserw's ideas and phenomenowogicaw approach. The series was created as a continuation of Jahrbuch für Phiwosophie und Phänomenowogische Forschung edited by Husserw himsewf (main demes: de human being and de human wife condition).